Panorama tools applications

There are several tools in the panorama tools package by Helmut Dersch that are intended for other use than mere panorama creation or display. And of course there are lots of possibilities to use panorama tools core functionality for non-panoramic purposes.

Tools in the package

The tools for Panorama Tools consist of Java apps, plug-ins, and applications. For most of these tools there is a small readme inside the package. Apart from that there is almost no documentation found on the web. Any contribution is welcome!

These extensions are described in total on Helmut Dersch's page: [3] (Descriptions taken mostly from there)

PTCompass

Inserts a user defined image which rotates synchronized with the pan-angle. It may be used as navigation and orientation aid. The image may be placed anywhere in the appletwindow, and it can rotate in both directions: like a real compass, or opposite.

PTMovies

Inserts a set of images into the panoramic image or the viewer window, depending on the warp-parameter. If warp is true (default) the images are inserted into the panorama and they have to be warped to the panoramic projection. They are displayed perspectively corrected in PTViewer and appear like natural elements of the VR-scene. Example on Helmut Dersch's page: [4]

PTMedia

Many media formats are available in PTViewer if JMF is installed on the host computer. These include avi-video, linear quicktime video, flash 2, mpeg1/2/3, many soundformats etc. See the Sun Java site for supported media types.

PTObject

displays 3D-objects using a set of images similar to the Apple QTVR-viewer. The images are organized in horizontal stripes, and may cover several rows. There is an optional mask image, that can be supplied to make portions of the original image transparent. Example (with a panorama as background!) on Helmut Dersch's page: [5]

PTZoom

High resolution zoomable images can be inserted using this extension. These images are seamlessly integrated in the viewer window, and automatically show up when the user pans and zooms into the respective feature. PTZoom uses rectilinear images from any normal or telephoto lens. Example on Helmut Dersch's page: [6]

Non-panoramic uses of panotools

Due to its incredible flexibility panotools core functions can be used for a wide range of non-panoramic uses including (but not limited to) the following:

Lens distortion correction

Barrel, pincushion and even wavy lens distortion can be corrected with panotools lens correction model. A project dedicated to this purpose is PTLens by Thomas Niemann. Tutorials on how to find suitable lens correction parameters are several on the web. A small selection:

Philo's tutorial on how to correct distortion and perspective in one go: [7]

Perspective correction

Another nice tutorial by Philo, showing how to correct perspective and lens distortion in one go:
[10]

Chromatic aberration correction

Since transversal chromatic aberration is essentially a different lens distortion for different colors, panotools can correct it by using different correction parameters on the different color channels. See Chromatic aberration page for details.

Apply a Fourier filter for example to restore stars from star trail images.

Photographing in Tight Spaces

Since a fisheye allows for a very wide field of view it can be used to shoot in tight spaces or if you can't get enough distance for a wide angle shot. Panotools will remap to a more conventional view: